Saving Seafood

Recommended 2022 Species Recovery Grants Projects

May 2, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries is recommending roughly $6.2 million in funding for state and tribal projects through its Species Recovery Grants Program. Around $3.6 million in funding is proposed for 12 new awards to eight states, a territory, and one federally recognized tribe. Another $2.6 million will support the continuation of 13 multi-year projects that were approved in prior grant cycles.

States and tribes play an essential role in conserving and recovering species. Threatened or endangered species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction may spend all or part of their lifecycle in state or tribal waters. Successfully conserving these species depends largely on working cooperatively with states and tribes. This year’s proposed projects support our state and tribal partners in a range of activities, such as:

  • Assessing and monitoring endangered and threatened species presence and status, including evaluating abundance, spawning, and foraging behaviors
  • Collecting demographic and genetic information to improve understanding of population distribution, habitat use, and impacts of human threats
  • Increasing the number of individuals for outplanting by improving captive reproduction, health, and survival of an endangered species
  • Assisting with animal stranding responses
  • Determining the importance and assessing threats of specific prey populations to the diet of endangered species
  • Engaging the public in conservation of Endangered Species Act-listed species

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

 

‘Resilient’ leatherback turtles can survive fishing rope entanglements. Mostly

April 6, 2022 — Leatherback sea turtles run a gantlet of fishing lines and other human impacts during their annual migratory loop from Caribbean nesting grounds to the eastern coast of North America and back. One of the leatherback turtle’s biggest obstacles is entanglement in ropes from lobster pot traps deployed by commercial fisheries in the waters of New England. A recently published report in Endangered Species Research found that while turtles can survive entanglement if reached by rescuers, new approaches in fisheries are needed for them to survive over the long term.

“I was surprised and encouraged by how many of the cases [showed] that the turtles were able to survive these events,” said lead author Kara Dodge, from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts, who analyzed 15 years’ worth of data collected by the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) based in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The CCS played the dual role of collecting data and coming to the rescue during turtle entanglements with its Marine Animal Entanglement Response Program. Between 2005 and 2019, the CCS saved more than 100 leatherback turtles. The world’s largest sea turtle, the leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea, is currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and is threatened by fisheries, destruction of beaches and climate change.

Read the full story at Mongabay

 

Working with West Coast Tribes to Protect Endangered Species

April 5, 2022 — In late 2019, the National Science Foundation proposed to fund a high-energy seismic research survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. It would take place off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island in the summer of 2021. These surveys inform earthquake and tsunami hazards in the highly populated Pacific Northwest. The surveys deploy airguns, which create sound waves that transmit through the water. Any marine life in the area could be affected by the sound, including salmon and Southern resident killer whales, which are culturally important to many Pacific Northwest Tribes.

Through an academic study, the National Science Foundation  proposed a marine geophysical survey to collect geological data from Cascadia Subduction Zone. To collect the survey data, the National Science Foundation Research Vessel Marcus G. Langserh would tow airguns that send out sound waves into the water.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Western Pacific Council Asks for Remedies to ESA Consultation Delays, Monument Management Plans

March 29, 2022 — Endangered Species Act consultations through NMFS takes time, but the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is tired of waiting.

Council Chair Archie Soliai reiterated concerns about NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office delays in completing ESA consultations for the region’s longline and bottomfish fisheries when the Council met last week.

“Our experience with ESA consultations over the last several years have left us with the impression that our Council process is not respected,” Soliai said in a press release. “The Council is here to ensure the sustainability of our region’s fishery resources as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. We ask PIRO to provide us with realistic timelines and meaningful dialogue, so we may work together to complete these biological opinions and ensure that our fisheries can continue to operate in compliance with ESA.”

The Council said it will convey its concerns to Janet Coit, assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), requesting assistance so biological opinions are completed in coordination with the Council.

Read the full story at Seafood News

White House starts key ESA ‘critical habitat’ review

March 14, 2022 — The Fish and Wildlife Service this week stepped closer toward erasing a Trump administration rule that crimped the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “critical habitat.”

On Tuesday, records show, the federal agency, along with NOAA Fisheries, submitted a long-awaited ESA rule for final White House review. Once the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has done its thing, it will be go time for one of the environmental community’s priorities.

“The Endangered Species Act has saved hundreds of irreplaceable plants and animals from extinction, but it could be doing so much more good,” Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

Kurose added that “despite the law’s remarkable success, the services have been reluctant to fully implement it, succumbing to years of political and industry pressure to weaken what is the only hope for imperiled species.”

On Tuesday, the same day the federal agencies handed the ball to White House reviewers, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a sweeping petition urging FWS and NOAA Fisheries to take a variety of actions.

Read the full story at E&E News

 

Federal right whale legislation floated

March 2, 2022 — Introduced to the U.S. Senate last week was the Right Whale Coexistence Act of 2022, led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and joined by fellow Democrats. The proposed bill seeks to help right whale conservation efforts “by supporting and providing financial resources for conservation programs and projects.”

The legislation adds to the swirl of regulatory and legal action aimed at protecting the right whales — but at a cost to Maine lobstermen and the $1 billion that the industry is estimated to add to the state’s economy each year.

The Right Whale Coexistence Act of 2022 aims to support through grants and other financial assistance conservation programs that curtail the effect of human activity on right whales. Right whales are injured and killed from ship strikes as well as being entangled in fishing lines.

The North Atlantic right whale is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. The number of right whales has steadily declined since 2010 and the estimated population dropped 30 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to federal monitoring programs. It now stands at below 340, the lowest in two decades, and the reported number of breeding females is small.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species Report to Congress 2019–2020

February 1, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries has released the Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species Report to Congress. It summarizes efforts to recover all transnational and domestic species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2020.This report summarizes the status of each species that has or will have a recovery plan, the status of the recovery plan, and the completion date for the last 5-year review.

With this report, NOAA Fisheries is updating progress made on its strategic approach to endangered species recovery. This approach focuses agency resources on species for which immediate, targeted efforts can be taken to stabilize their populations and prevent extinction.

The report highlights recovery progress for nine species identified in the Species in the Spotlight initiative. These species need focused intervention to stabilize their populations and prevent their extinction.

During the 2 years covered in this report, we managed 99 domestic (includes some transnational) species, including:

  • Salmon
  • Sturgeon
  • Sawfish
  • Sharks
  • Rays
  • Seagrass
  • Mollusks
  • Sea turtles
  • Corals
  • Marine mammals

We also managed 66 foreign species. In this report, we address 99 transnational and domestic species for which a recovery plan has or will be developed. That included one newly-listed species, Rice’s Whale (Balaenoptera ricei). It was originally listed as endangered on April 15, 2019 as Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni, unnamed subspecies). On August 23, 2021, we issued a direct final rule to revise the listing to reflect the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of the species.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

 

Suit: Agencies fail to protect marine species from oil

January 27, 2022 — A conservation group says in a lawsuit that the U.S. government failed to protect endangered whales and other animals by underestimating the potential for an oil spill like a recent crude pipeline leak off California’s coast.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday saying Interior Department agencies and the National Marine Fisheries Service didn’t ensure offshore oil and gas production wouldn’t jeopardize endangered and threatened species in accordance with U.S. law.

The lawsuit says the Service found in a 2017 analysis that oil and gas production wouldn’t likely have an adverse effect on threatened marine life off California’s coast, there was a low likelihood of an offshore oil spill and if one occurred, it would likely involve no more than 8,400 gallons (31,800 liters). The suit asks the court to vacate the analysis and bar new oil activity unless government agencies comply with the law protecting endangered species.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

 

Biden admin to uproot Trump ‘critical habitat’ policies

October 27, 2021 — The Biden administration today moved to rescind Trump administration policies that crimped the designation of critical habitat to protect threatened or endangered species.

In a pair of long-anticipated moves, the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries proposed getting rid of a Trump-era definition of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. FWS is also proposing to end a policy that made it easier to exclude territory.

Taken together, the two proposed rule changes could significantly alter the much-litigated ESA landscape and, supporters say, enhance conservation and recovery of vulnerable animals or plants.

They will also revive the debate over practical consequences and regulatory nuts and bolts that have shadowed the ESA since the day it became law in 1973 (Greenwire, Oct. 19).

“The Endangered Species Act is one of the most important conservation tools in America and provides a safety net for species that are at risk of going extinct,” said Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz.

Read the full story at E&E News

 

On Endangered Species Day, Let’s Save Threatened Species Together

May 20, 2021 — The following was released by Friends of the Sea:

From an adorable panda to a white shark, from a Tristan albatross to the Titicaca water frog and pangolins, these are all endangered species, which means they are under a real threat of extinction if nothing is done to prevent it.

As we look at images of dinosaurs and wonder what these incredible creatures looked like, one day, our sons and grandsons might stare at the picture of a tiger and ask why didn’t we make enough to save them.

For this reason, every third Friday of May, we mark Endangered Species Day. It’s a date to raise awareness about the species in danger, but most importantly, to take action to protect the biodiversity of our planet. The World Sustainability Organization supports conservation projects to restore the population of species under threat and prevent others from becoming endangered.

THE RED LIST

But, which are the most threatened species? The main reference to answer this question is the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Established in 1964, it’s the world’s most comprehensive information source on the status of animal, fungus, and plant species. The list is being continuously updated by scientists who so far have assessed more than 134,000 species. Their studies reveal some shocking facts:

  • In the last 500 years, more than 900 species have been forced to extinctionby human activity.
  • Currently, more than 37,400 species are threatened with extinction. That’s 28% of all assessed species.
  • The endangered species are 41% amphibians, 26% mammals, 14% birds, 36% sharks and rays, 28% selected crustaceans, 33% reef corals.

Extinction is not a remote possibility. For species in a critical situation, it could happen as sooner as in the next ten years. In December 2020, the IUCN announced 31 new extinct species.

SOME GOOD NEWS

However, extinction is not inevitable, and we shouldn’t be discouraged from acting. Good news from conservation projects shows that endangered species can recover. As recently as last year, the European Bison, Europe’s largest land mammal, came out of the threatened category thanks to conservation efforts. This is why the World Sustainability Organization supports concrete action to save endangered species around the globe. We create campaigns to raise the public’s awareness and pressure the authorities; we also commit to conservation projects, and we need all the help we can get.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SAVE ENDANGERED SPECIES

The World Sustainability Organization is a Non-Governative Organization whose aim is to protect critical habitats and endangered species globally by means of the sustainability certifications Friend of the Sea and Friend of the Earth and the related conservation and awareness projects.